Denver 420 Fest Cancelled Following Opposition from Park Advocates

Cheesman Park residents want to keep canna-tourism out of their neighborhood.

A two-day 4/20 event in Denver, Colorado has been cancelled after a park advocacy group protested the proposed use of the city's historic Cheesman Park. The Denver 420 Fest was planned for April 20th and 21st by Colorado Highlife LLC as an alternative to the longstanding Denver 420 Rally in Civic Center Park. The permit application for the 420 Fest estimated nearly 5,000 attendees per day, along with vendor booths, DJs, and live music.

Park advocacy group Friends and Neighbors for Cheesman Park sent an angry letter to city officials protesting the festival's use of the park, calling the idea “disrespectful to historic Cheesman Park and the neighborhood.” The group also expressed concerns over excessive noise from the DJs and live music, as well as illegal public pot smoking and paraphernalia sales.

City Councilman Wayne New said that Cheesman Park was a poor choice for a marijuana festival, especially given that the festival would have occurred on weekdays, when schoolchildren would be visiting the nearby Denver Botanic Gardens."

We just need to make sure we have the 4/20 events in the right place,” New said. “I don’t think anybody has any objection to having something down in Civic Center Park, but unfortunately that wasn’t available (for this event).”

Thursday afternoon, “the event organizer has advised the city that he has canceled the event,” Cyndi Karvaski, spokeswoman for Denver Parks and Recreation, said. Colorado Highlife have yet to release an official statement explaining the cancellation.

published on March 17, 2017

Chris Moore

Chris Moore is a New York-based writer who has written for Mass Appeal while also mixing records and producing electronic music.